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My Favorite Halloween Costume Memories
Topics: Chicken, cholo, pollo, loco, Halloween, Costume, memories, Bakersfield, Bakotopia. Blog, Childhood, comedy
Posted by HappyFeet Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:32:20 PDT
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0 responses 6 comments My Favorite Halloween Costume Memories

('Cholo Chicken' aka 'El Pollo Loca')

By HappyFeet aka Veronica Madrigal

I've had some pretty crazy costumes over the years, but I don't think I can ever outdo my mom's creations while my siblings and I were growing up.

We grew up really poor, so instead of going out and buying costumes, my mom would gather anything that was lying around the house and make it herself.

One year she'd found some old pajamas, her old make- up, and several sponge hair-rollers lying around. Half my hair was rolled in these pink, sponge thingies, while the other half was tousled in every possible direction.

To augment my already crazy look, my mom decided to paint half my face with make-up, and paint the other half as a clown.

She said, “Just tell everyone you're half clown/half housewife.”

 Uhm, riiight?

I could never figure out why she didn't make me either a clown or housewife, as opposed to half and half. As a child I didn't question it, I just went trick-or-treating with half a clown face and the other half looking like a cheap, hussy housewife. At 8 years old there was no way I could understand the absurdity of my disguise. My trick-or-treat bag would definitely not go empty, and at the time, that was all that mattered.

The worst year had to be when I actually went to school in one of my mom's off-the-wall creations. We'd gone to a Big Lots-type store and found a bin where everything was a buck. Typical of my frugal mom, she begins to rummage through the bin of cheap, plastic Halloween masks. And wouldn't you know my luck? She finds one perfect for me.

It was a chicken face mask. Yes, it really was the mask of a chicken. Not a scary, killer chicken, mind you, just a regular, egg-pooping chicken. Again, there was no questioning my mom's choices. I was probably just happy I got a mask that year, even if it did yank at my hair because of the thick rubber band holding the mask over my face. Now that I think about it, it was a good thing I didn't suffocate with only two tiny air holes to breathe through.

But that wasn't the end of it. You would think the mask could have been complemented well with a white outfit. Something that would've given it a real chicken-effect, maybe attach a few feathers on my butt. It would have been fine. Not that ridiculous, right? Okay, maybe a bit dorky, but not in excess.

But then that'd be too easy, and this is my mother I'm talking about. She had the clever idea of complementing my wacky costume with a black and white flannel shirt and a pair of black pants that were lying around the house. The kind of flannel shirt that cholos used to wear. You know, the ones the cholos would button up on top, set off with a wife beater shirt underneath and a backwards lean to emphasize their cool vato-ness.

AND I WENT TO SCHOOL LIKE THAT! The horror!

And what does my dear mother say? “Tell everyone you're a Cholo Chicken.”

A Cholo Chicken?! How can I look tough and intimidating as a gangsta pollo? I guess she figured they'd call me La Polla Loca.

Now I know why the chicken crossed the road. It was hoping it'd be run over by a car because it was so traumatized that its mother made it dress up in wacky costumes.

In all honesty though, as traumatizing as it could have been for a child, I had a great time every Halloween. I may have been the most bizarre looking kid every Halloween night, but they still remain some of my favorite memories. No matter how poor we were, my mom still took the time to ensure that we'd enjoy each Halloween. And it really was a lot of fun.

I can't help but wonder now in my older age if my mom dressed me up in wacky costumes for her own amusement. That could explain the pointing and laughing. Hmmm…? In all seriousness though, I appreciate the effort she made in spite of her lack of creativity.

Thanks for all the Halloween memories, Mom!

Happy Halloween, Bakotopians!

*Originally printed in Bakotopia Magazine, Issue 13, 10 - 19 - 07

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Comment From: HappyFeet

You do not even know how close that picture is to what I really looked like walking into school in the 4th grade. Ha! Thanks for the pic, Matt! :) Comment From: twinkie

LACK OF CREATIVITY????? hahahaha girlfriend, you better recognize! ha. It just doesn't get more creative than La Polla Loca Comment From: HappyFeet

Ha! So true. I never looked at it that way. My dear mom was overly creative, combining things that no one else had even thought of. She's so cute though! I love her even if she made me look like a dork!! Comment From: pinkpixielove

Haha...funny Comment From: tashkajones

haha... too funny.... we were poor to... one year my mom tied a bandana around my leg and put too many socks on, stuff that didn't match, pigtails and called me punky brewster.... another year she put my hair in a bun and sprayed it grey for me to be an old lady... lol.... Comment From: HappyFeet

Sistersheree, I'll tell my mom that! :) She'll probably feel better to know that no one thinks she's a bad mom. hee! Fedora hats are so cool!

Hi, Lisa! :) Yeah, my mom was pretty funny. :)

Brookie! :) Punky Brewster rocks! :) That was so cute your mom tried to make you look like Punky Brewster. My mom tried to make me Pippi Longstocking braids one Halloween with a wire clothes hanger. It didn't work out. ha!